The Land of the Sand Box
by vierblith
Summary: TezukaFuji. Oneshot. Crack: Tezuka meets a Princess who doesn't want to wear a skirt and they protect the Land of the Sand Box from the King of the Merry Go Round Castle and the General Who Says Usu. Warning: children Tezuka and Fuji.


**the Land of the Sand Box**  
Warnings: crack, children!TezukaFuji  
Prompt: The song I'll Make A Man Out of You (_Mulan_ OST) but I don't think I stuck to it.  
Disclaimer: Tezuka and Fuji belong to each other and the song used for this fic (this is not a song fic, though) is under the ownership of, well, the composer and, of course, Walt Disney. nods

**A/N: **First fic of the year! For ketchupblood. I hope you enjoy this. I'd say that the song would certainly have been an angsty Zukafuji song had it not been for fighting the Huns.

_Tranquil as a forest  
But on fire within  
Once you find your center  
you are sure to win_

Contrary to popular belief, Tezuka was not born attached to a tennis racquet. The legend that he was born among a heap of tennis balls was not true either. In fact, Tezuka was born normal, flailing his limbs and bawling his lungs out as any newborn child did. Tezuka also used to talk a lot. He often asked his parents questions that would make Inui say: _This is illogical. My data never lies._ Whenever he heard strange noises up their ceiling, he would ask his parents if the dust monster up their attic was growing. He never believed that it was the cat. He had, like most children, an imaginary friend, one he fondly called Marilyn. Yes, Tezuka was indeed an imaginative child.

Before Tezuka discovered that the God of Tennis had given him the talent for defying the laws of Physics, he was well-content with fighting dragons, bandits and evil foreigners that dared set foot on his favorite land – the Land of the Sand Box. His worst enemy was probably the King of the Merry-Go-Round Castle, a gray-haired child who always had someone bulky and only said 'Usu' for a General. The King was very, very haughty and he said that he owned the Kingdom of the Playground. He said that the Land of the Sand Box was rightfully his and he would tell the General Who Said Usu to take it away from Tezuka by all means.

Tezuka patiently watched his enemies aloft the Sand Watch Tower and eyed the Merry-Go-Round Castle like a hawk. He was alone, but he would never let the General Who Said Usu and his King conquer the Land of the Sand Box. The enemies had not arrived yet because Tezuka was an early riser. Tezuka's eyes roved around and he cast his attention to the Palace of the Bench.

There, he saw a Princess writhing under the clutches of a beautiful, deceitful witch, who turned out to be the Princess' sister.

"Neesan," the Princess said, her eyes were shut and Tezuka had to wonder if the Princess were blind. "I don't want to wear a skirt."

The Witch Sister laughed. "It looks cute on you." She waved her camera and clicked on it while the Princess was in her grip.

"Definitely evil," Tezuka muttered to himself. But he wrinkled his nose, unable to understand why a Princess would not want to wear a skirt. It was very becoming for the Princess of the Palace of the Bench and Tezuka blushed slightly when their eyes met.

The Princess finally scuttled away from her Witch Sister and went to a trip toward the Land of the Sand Box. "Can I join you?" she asked, smiling up at Tezuka.

"Of course," Tezuka said, gesturing the Princess to the Sand Throne.

The Princess slumped down on the sand. At first, she was evidently trying to be comfortable. After a few minutes, however, she was scratching and fidgeting.

"That does not suit a Princess like you," Tezuka pointed out.

The Princess tilted her head and looked oddly at Tezuka. "I'm actually a boy," she said quietly.

But Tezuka was not easily deceived. Perhaps, the Princess was pretending to be a boy for some reason. Since he did not want to be impolite, Tezuka only nodded. "I see."

"So…" The Princess started, glancing around her. "What are we doing?"

"Guarding the Land of the Sand Box," Tezuka said matter-of-factly. "The King of the Merry-Go-Round wants to take it away."

"Where is he?" The Princess asked curiously.

"He is not here yet," Tezuka answered.

"How can I help?" asked the Princess. Her eyes lit up brightly, revealing a pair of blue orbs. "Can I be a General?"

"But you're a Princess," Tezuka said, reminding.

"I'm a boy," said the Princess adamantly, her eyes were revealed again.

Tezuka sighed. He never knew before that Princesses had odd temperaments. "Of course."

"So can I be a General?" asked the Princess eagerly.

Tezuka nodded reluctantly. "You have to be trained since you're a Princess – "

"I'm a boy," said the Princess, sounding almost exasperated despite the smile.

"Well, then, let's make you a man," said Tezuka slowly. "Generals are men."

The Princess nodded enthusiastically. She grabbed a twig and swung it violently before her. Tezuka had to jump back to avoid the furious slashes that the Princess made.

"I suppose that will do," Tezuka said, holding the Princess' arm to avoid being struck with the stick. He heard the creaking Castle of the Merry Go Round and dragged the Princess down to the sand. "Shh, hide!"

But the Princess jumped up and sprang toward the General Who Said Usu and pointed her twig at him. "I dare you to defeat me in a duel!" she said proudly, wearing a bright smile.

"Who is she?" the King of the Merry-Go-Round Castle asked. "Defeat her, Kabaji!"

"Usu."

"I'm a boy," the Princess said, smiling, swishing her twig around and sticking it to the General Who Said Usu's abdomen. "And I shall defend the Land of the Sand Box with… er – " she turned to Tezuka. "What's your name?"

"Tezuka Kunimitsu," Tezuka answered.

_Swish._

Tezuka had to pull the Princess close to him because the General Who Said Usu made a lethal swing. "Be careful," said Tezuka, holding a hand to lift the Princess. "The General Who Says Usu is very capable of – "

"Syusuke, what happened?"

Tezuka inclined his head to see the Witch Sister approach and brush sand off the Princess' clothes. "We have to meet okaasan and Yuuta at the train station in a few minutes," said the Witch Sister.

The smile on the Princess' face wavered a little. "Goodbye, Tezuka-kun." She shook Tezuka's hand, which was, in Tezuka's book, a very unprincessly thing to do. She smiled brightly. "I had fun." With that, she let the Witch Sister tow her away.

Tezuka cleaned his hands and ran to his okaasan, who handed him a cone of chocolate ice cream. "Okaasan, I met a Princess," said Tezuka, jovially slurping on his ice cream. "Her name is Syusuke."

Tezuka's mother blinked. "But, Kunimitsu, dear, 'Syusuke' is a boy's name."

Tezuka furrowed his brows, confused. As far as he knew, boys did not wear skirts. Tezuka blushed. And he did not know that boys his age could be so pretty either.

**-End-**

_With all the strength  
of a raging fire  
Mysterious as the  
dark side of the moon_

**A/N:**You see, Tezuka has been in a search of Fuji's true self since they were young. 


End file.
